The Three Shields
by BytheBayGirl
Summary: For Midoriya Izuku, her Quirk was not Hero material but Support. She helps anyone she could while masked of course. She earned the name Masked Maiden for all people she's helped on the sly. But for civilians and villain alike whom she helped, she was the Shield of Life.
1. Chapter 1

The Shield: Origin

For four years old Izuku, her Quirk was not suited for Heroics as it's just a golden energy shield. But a shield that can protect her from ANYTHING. Heck, she can even change its size without compromising on power! She calls it Tri-Shield. 'Tri' for triangle due to how it looked.

However, its more than just a small shield she showed her classmates. There's more to it that she never let anyone know and there's more to the 'tri' in it.

Her dream school, along with Kacchan was UA. But when she staked out UA on its Entrance Exams day when she was 8, she learned that its exams are...well...she'll definitely fail even if she aced the written exam.

Sad about that, she resolved to do it her way instead. She enrolled herself in gymnastics focusing on Floor Gymnastics in order to be a skilled acrobat as a kid in school, and took martial arts after school. She's thus very physically fit with great balance. But come final year in her middle school year, she switched to Sewing Club...to Bakugo's disbelief.

'What the hell?! You were doin' great in Gymnastics!' he cried.

'Resting is also training you big lug.' Izuku deadpanned. 'You let your body heal from workout while eating healthy stuff. That's logic.'

This was also time for her to test her Vigilante Abilities.

She saved up enough money to buy herself a costume. A white plain chinese cheongsam with white add-on sleeves, thigh-high black tights and jikutabi. Her mask was something she made herself. Fully-covering her whole head.

Capable of Parkour and karate, she can manage herself just fine, unless forced to use the sole offensive she has.

Soon, she became a big name in the streets of her city.

She who appears at night to rescue girls from typical creepy men, rescuing people from mugging or worse, beating drug dealers and phoning police where to pick them, among other things.

However, due to a certain Hero Killer's MO, she also heals Heroes...and rescuing during the day as long as she is hidden.

xxx

Police Station...

'Sigh, why can't they just enroll in the Hero Course if they want to be Heroes, but nooo, they choose Vigilantism instead.'

This was a typical complaint among Police Officers as one, Quirk Usage is illegal if you're not a licensed Pro-Hero. Two, said Heroes are bitchng about it as Villains are their bread and butter and three, the Police WILL have a good reason to gripe, if said Vigilante is underage in a dangerous powered society!

The newcomer, Masked Maiden is clearly a young girl in form. At first that was her name as those she saves can only see her gender and can tell her age by her look alone. They cannot see her face and hair as it's well-hidden by a whole-head mask.

From testaments of those she saved from many occasions, she never used her Quirk. Just pure beatings.

But!

Victims of Stain gave new deets.

She can heal.

She patrols for minor crimes, and healing victims. But avoids things beyond her skill level, waiting it out, and comes out to heal when trouble was over.

And her healing is superb. Complete Healing as if whatever ailed her rescues never happened.

Now this, is a cause for alarm.

Healing Quirks of that caliber are literal National Treasures in a world like this.

So far, Recovery Girl was the only one with such level of healing, and now Masked Maiden happened!

Thus in a conference room, Heroes available are gathered into a meeting regarding Masked Maiden.

'...while we're grateful that this kid heals Stain's victims, it won't be long before the wrong sort of people hears about her and takes her to heal for Villains whether she likes it or not under duress.' said Tsukauchi grimly to the Heroes. 'She only deals with minor crimes, and heals victims but cannot fight battles stronger than her since she is mostly a healer thus relies more on her combat skills. But against Villains with powerful quirks, she's smart enough to hide and let stronger Heroes or Undergrounds deal with it, only coming out when battles are over to heal the Heroes. She's already smarter than most kids her age in that regard.' he deadpanned as other Heroes made a face, considering the kinds of interns they put up with, and they rarely have SENSE.

'Villains aside, she'll also annoy Stain, the Hero Killer who kills most of his targets.' Tsukauchi continued, fearing Stain will go after her for helping his targets live. 'Very few Heroes are lucky to survive him and that's because Masked Maiden was around. If Heroes died when she wasn't in the area and elsewhere, that's their bad luck.' Tsukauchi sighed. 'We cannot lose a Healer we can count on when Recovery Girl retires. We cannot lose her to any Villain or Stain. We have to catch her and put her and her family under safety before she gets the wrong attention and hopefully, have her parents help us put our foot down and make her pursue Heroics legally. Let's start immediately!'

xxx

Oblivious to the meeting going on...

Izuku in her persona wanders at night as usual.

Using mirrors at corners before walking into the next area, unaware she's being watched by two Heroes.

'Not bad, but she should look at high places too.' up on a roof, Eraserhead and Midnight looked down from where they were, following Izuku. 'Not alert enough.' and they gave her a jump scare by Midnight landing in front of her and behind her, Eraserhead.

'Wah?!' she took a step backwards from Midnight even if she knew someone else was behind her.

'Time to go home sweetie~' Midnight winked in a friendly manner. 'It's a friday now, school tomorrow.'

'Midnight, her life is in danger if Villains discover her powers and you're more worried about stopping her due to school?' Eraserhead deadpanned. 'Kid, we have to take you to UA. Now.'

'Eh? How come?'

'You'll know when we get there, can't talk about that here.'

'Uhm, can I do one last job first?' Izuku piped up. Her voice is another sign she's VERY YOUNG! 'I got a mysterious letter telling me to meet him in an alley from the street kids I used to help. He has awful burns for 11 years he just can't afford a doctor and he's broke.' she explained. 'He's ignoring the pain by pretending it doesn't exist, but the pain eats at his sanity because his burns rub against his clothes and sunlight makes it worse.'

'Can your healing heal _that_ kind of injury?' Eraserhead asked, astounded. Even Recovery Girl will give up on it as a lost cause!

'There's nothing I can't heal. I just keep that a secret from all my patients.' Izuku deadpanned. 'I made many lies to protect this truth.'

'Is there any setback like Recovery Girl?'

'...I get extremely hungry if I worked on severe cases it just takes me sheer willpower to go home and eat out my fridge, but on small cases like injuries on limbs, I feel nothing.'

'Well if we apply science here, you use your own energy in your cells so when you run out of energy by healing severe cases, the demand for energy is great.' Midnight frowned. 'And you're doing this for how long now?'

'Uhm, since the start of school year?'

'That's four months now kid.' said Eraserhead blandly. 'Let's find your target and be done with this.' so they escorted Izuku who skillfully gets around with parkour and acrobatics to cheat and save time, until they came to an alley with a dead end and a lone man waited. He was thin, lanky and they can see horrible burn scars.

'I'm here, Dabi.'

'...and why do you have an escort? Last I checked, you work alone.' said the man in his scratchy voice, looking warily at the Heroes in distaste.

'They'll take me to UA for who-knows-why...I mean, I'm only 14, not even High School age,' Dabi could see the Heroes go slack-jawed at her age in horror, '-and as far as Vigilantism went, I only went after small fry most Heroes ignore since its not enough camera time for publicity...so small crimes often went ignored.' she explained. 'And no police patrol areas like this, so small crimes to psychologically-scarring ones can freely happen here as well as black market deals.'

'What.' Eraserhead growled as Izuku sighed, making Dabi chuckle darkly as Izuku began to heal him.

'Exactly as she says, _Hero_.' he sneered the word out. 'Me bein' a street rat, I've seen everything since I was younger than her when I began living in the streets.' said Dabi as he could feel the power _work_. 'Muggings, violent rapings of women or even adolescents, drug orgies, kidnappings, you name it they happen here, in a place where there's no camera exposure for fame.' he spat. 'Vigilantes knows it. They're more helpful than attention-loving whores the public oh-so-applaud. The people here _need_ Vigilantes...whom you arrest by the way, when its only them who helps our sort. They're the only ones who give a damn about us.' he said bitterly. 'And by the looks of things, _you're gonna take away the only doctor we can go to_.' he deadpanned. 'Maiden never charged a single yen. She's a literal walking clinic for free.' the two Heroes winced as in this man's eyes, THEY'RE the Villains!

'Because she's in danger.' said Midnight in a pained voice because one's hero, is another's villain and they became that when they'll take a healer away from the slums. 'It's alright for her to save victims, but the problems are her age, and the wrong people knowing of her abilities.' she explained. 'She'll be kidnapped and blackmailed into working for them. Healing Villains as they cause trouble in society. And she's 14!' she shuddered. 'Moreover what about her family? What's stopping them from using them against her as leverage?'

'...I know that since I started.' said Izuku softly. 'But the Heroes of today, are disappointing. That's the problem. The cause of that, is Propaganda in the Educational System since Kindergarten. C'mon, you used to be Kindergarteners yourselves.' she scoffed. 'Have you met teachers who promote Heroics for fame and money instead of doing what Heroes SHOULD be doing? Those with flashy, heroic quirks are spoiled rotten by teachers, egos inflated like you wouldn't believe!' she scoffed. 'And for people like me with non-hero Quirks are merely insignificant, not worth bothering with because it doesn't look good on TV. Well try saying that to a doctor who can fix your ass, we'll gladly leave you to rot. Insignificant, are we?'

Eraserhead face-palmed.

'What's this world coming to?'

'Ask the teachers.'

Dabi was actually young and handsome, if not for his scars! As he healed, his medical staples popped off his skin since he was healing, nothing to hold onto anymore though his piercings also came off.

'Man, 12 fuckin' years...its like, nothing happened...' Dabi looked at himself, astonished. 'Then again, I'll have you meet me every month, at Takigawa Park. I literally _get cooked alive_ each time I use my powers,' that's even worse than being a runaway, '-and I work as a Quirk-For-Hire...its the only job I can get since I ran away before I even graduated elementary.'

Quirk-For-Hire. Basically a Mercenary. Anyone's your client for money for a living.

'...why did you run?' Eraserhead asked him. This kid ran away from home at an age younger than Masked Maiden...and took to crime as Quirk-For-Hires are often hired as muscle for Villainy. Disposable too. Painful to admit, its the only way a kid can survive.

'If you have a _monster_ for a father who's very powerful with a good reputation, you'd have no choice...who'd believe a brat over him?' Dabi sneered. 'Nobody will help me...or my mom and siblings. Mom's committed from all our suffering in a mental ward last I checked I hope my siblings did the smart thing and run even if it meant a shitty life like this. A shitty, but life of freedom with no more beatings under the guise of so-called training to be a Hero who can surpass All-Might cuz' he couldn't. Nobody'd save us.' he said bitterly.

'Mom went insane due to helplessness...if she tried to save us, she gets smacked hard enough in the face, strong enough to throw her at walls, head first.' Eraserhead, Midnight and Izuku looked at him, horrified at his tale. 'And sees us in that shitty hellhole...what mother, can last long seeing her children suffer beatings and helpless to protect her kids? And gets her head hit a lot for trying to protect us to no avail?'

'Won't you come with us too, Dabi-kun?' Midnight offered, wanting to give the man a way out. 'We can help you.'

'Ohhhh yes, you're willing to help me, but the problem, are those who hold your leash...the Hero Commission. Do the Math from there, Midnight. If he sees me, the stain of his blood, a failure of a weapon, he'll kill me.' Dabi deadpanned snarkily. Dabi's father is a high-ranking Hero, high-ranking enough to have such support andthe Hero Commission cannot afford a scandal of this level to come out. They'll cover it up even sacrificing a few individuals just to avoid the fallout. They realized that chilling truth. A high-ranking popular Hero...who's a monster at home. 'That's why I have no choice.' he then got up with a slight stagger. 'Whoopsie...been a while since I last had a whole body...my head also feels clearer...wow...and we'll lose our doctor soon.'

'Sorry about that kid, but Healers like Masked Maiden are National Treasure-Class. We can't let Villains know she existed and all the crap that comes with it.' Eraserhead sighed. 'They come like, once a century. Better on the side of the law than criminal organizations who have a knife at her throat.' he took out a cell phone and pushed speed dial 1. 'Hello, it's Eraser. We secured Masked Maiden. Will be bringing her to UA.'

'Take care, Dabi.' said Izuku as the Heroes took her away by carrying her.

'...I planted a seed of doubt. That's my success.' Dabi chuckled. 'The hunt will soon begin...mom.'

xxx

UA High School...Principal's Office...

Not just the teachers, but police and high-ranking Heroes involved in her case are present.

'Hello there, Maiden-chan.' Nezu greeted. 'May we know your identity?'

'...I'd rather not take off my mask right now, Principal.' said Izuku. 'Being anonymous makes me safer than being known the way things are now.'

'Where did you find her?' Best Jeanist asked Eraser.

'She works in places no Hero will go to. Where there's no media for camera exposure as she puts it.' said Eraser, upset about the matter. 'Heroes never venture in the darkest parts of the city where crime thrives...just because there's no camera from the media to boost their fame.' the people in the office bristled at his words. 'People who chose to be Vigilantes for that reason _work there_ as a result but WE arrest THEM because its the LAW...as a result, the people there see US as Villains because we take away the only people willing to save them from Villains there. And now we're the Villain again for taking the only doctor who never charged them a single yen.' he sighed. 'How fucked up is this?'

When he puts it that way...

'We also have to address the upbringing of today's children.' said Midnight wearily. 'Maiden-chan you have the floor...and we need to talk about Dabi-kun too.'

'Dabi...as in Cremation?' Ryukyu asked her.

'Yes. He must have powerful flames, but as a result, each use cooks him alive slowly but surely...he endured 12 years' worth of burn injuries while working as a Quirk-for-Hire as its the only job he could get after running away from an abusive home...'

Midnight explained the situation.

'The question is, who is this Hero who abused his wife enough to drive her into a Mental Ward, and his children?' Best Jeanist choked out, wide-eyed.

'High-ranking, someone in the Top 20s enough to warrant interference from the Hero Commission at the expense of his wife and kids...' Crust shook in anger. 'Someone among us is a Villain to his own family. I'm just glad its not All-Might at least.'

'Mm.' Yoroi Musha nodded. 'If we're talking about Fire Quirks...'

'Endeavor.' that came to their minds.

'We'll investigate his family.' said Nezu. 'Then let's talk about Masked Maiden.'

'That's not a name I chose...everyone decided that because I'm a Healer.' Izuku sighed. 'I'm not cute enough for that name.'

'What made you a Vigilante at such a young age?'

'...not everyone can afford a doctor.' said Izuku. 'I go to the poor than help in hospitals since people there can afford to pay. People in the slums worry more about rent and food. If they're sick or injured, they just suck it up until it goes away or gets worse till they die. Naturally I can't be everywhere either. I have to keep going. So the slums of Musutafu are my territory...and Veterinary Clinics for confined pets.'

'I see...how far can your Healing go?'

'Its enough to restore my patients as if nothing happened at my expense.' said Izuku. 'That only applies if I have to regenerate entire limbs or organs or in Dabi's case, his whole half-cooked body. Injuries cost nothing. But otherwise, I need to eat a lot of food. I mean, Midnight and Eraserhead paid for 20 bowls of food in Yoshinoya before we came here because I was super-hungry...'

'W-wow...' Present Mic whistled. '20 bowls of food? And you're still alive?'

'Well, my body goes hyper-digestion mode so energy from food reaches my energy-drained cells otherwise I'm gonna go Auto-Phagocytosis if I didn't eat even a single morsel an hour after I'm all-spent. I'm gonna kill myself in other words.' Izuku explained with a shrug. 'My parents don't know I can heal. I lied about my Quirk to them and the Quirk Doctors.'

'Eh? How come?' Hawks asked her.

'I was watching TV on how many kids disappeared as well as even adults your age...all of whom with good Quirks.' said Izuku. 'Mom freaked out and never let me out of the house and that was before I turned four, a time when we're not even sure I'll have a Quirk or be Quirkless. Police and Heroes never found them up till now.' the authorities looked rather glum at that. 'Yet people with non-combat and ahem, not-useful Quirks are lucky to avoid kidnapping. So I thought, I should lie about my Quirk or I'll disappear too and never see mom and dad anymore. Healing is useful after all...there's merits in why Midnight and Eraser said when they came to get me. But being under custody also means the slums no longer have a doctor...I dunno what to do.' said Izuku, deflating gloomily.

'You enveloped Dabi in a barrier earlier.' Eraserhead noted. 'You used an aspect of your Quirk to lie with.'

'Yup.' Izuku created her triangle shield. 'This is my 'front quirk'. Try attacking me with this on.'

Hawks shot four feathers at her, but they turned to dust upon hitting her Quirk.

'Golden Shield...nothing gets past this. And I do mean nothing. But I also lied about the size...so people think it's a girly not-quite-useful Quirk with a lot of openings...as in, what's stopping you to control your Quirk to get past a small triangle shield?' Izuku snorted. 'But if you're inside...' she enveloped herself in it. 'I can fix anything while at the same time I'm well-defended, or just my patient. You'l probably look who I am thru the Quirk Registry, but please don't tell my parents OR the Registry the truth...I don't want to disappear.' she shuddered.

That was a justifiable fear.

Which arouses the question...

...who ELSE lied about their Quirks? Be it for justified or villainous reasons?

'Very well. We will keep what we know a secret for your safety.' Tsukauchi promised her. 'Just that, please stop going to the slums or you'll really disappear.'

'But what about my meeting Dabi every month in Takigawa Park? For sure he'll direct other sick and injured there just to see me.' Izuku pointed out. 'I can't deny them.'

'...well, we'll deal with that when the time comes.' said Nezu. 'For now, we will discuss many things...'


	2. The Healer's Start

The Healer's Start

Eraserhead was mostly her guardian as she heals her patients at night. Mostly homeless people and those too poor to afford treatment. They have the phone number of Eraserhead to send text messages for healing requests for Masked Maiden to be present, Light injuries such as scrapes or shallow cuts aren't worth a visit. Things that cause severe pain such as dental, skeletal, severe muscle or organ pain, or heinous injuries, either the Healing Group will show up at the park, or onsite if patient cannot move and traffic is cumbersome for the needy patients who WILL be in pain if they were moved.

And since the revelation that the slums are 'left alone' that people there hold police and heroes in contempt for arresting the vigilantes that _actually_ protects them even without getting fame and money for it, steps had to be taken or there _will_ be a mutiny if word gets out that Masked Maiden, their doctor will be taken from them too!

So this set up has to be done and Police began patrolling more in seedy areas, and vigilantes captured got a lighter sentence. It was either that, or an angry quirk-using mutinous rebellion on their hands.

Eraserhead and her other guardian which were rotations of heroes specialized in capture, not fighting incase things go hairy, accompany her every late at night, starting 9 pm to 12 midnight. And a Lunch Rush Truck filled to the brim with donburi bowls, cooked especially healthy for the girl needing it. She needs a supply of food for herself. Well, this one need not worry about obesity any time soon...

These Heroes were witness that she can heal damn near anything, except for death...and she even had to deal with frikking All-Might of all people.

Who knew he's so injured he can hardly eat? And restoring him on the next day after she 'got arrested'? She needed a truck's worth each of solely soft sweet potatoes, meat, boiled eggs and fatty fish on her request cooked as healthily as possible with spices and herbs as she needed a lot of energy to restore him as he was expensive to heal for some reason unlike many patients like him with similar conditions that he 'was weird' in her book as he was the first-ever patient to cost her so much!

At least All-Might paid for the food she needed to eat to heal him. He was insanely-wealthy much of his fortune went to charities he sponsors, and his medical care.

As for Dabi, they had to find him. He was working as a Mercenary for...a freaking Drug Cartel. He was forced to be a Villain for money as it was only villainous jobs Quirk-for-Hires ever get. By the time they found him, he was agonizing over burns. Again. Izuku had to heal him again and Nezu roped him in for underworld jobs and becoming a licensed hero in order to help save the Slums...while having access to further training and Recovery Girl. It was a deal Dabi accepted.

Treating his injuries enabled Recovery Girl to get a blood sample...and ye gads...so now the right people are debating on how to deal with his problems.

'Nooow then...what to do about the next generation of Heroes?' Nezu wondered as on his desk, were recommended students. So many, but there can only be five...normally.

But because of Midoriya Izuku, Recovery Girl's successor...there will be six. Six, out of all these students recommended by many teachers from their schools. However, only the strongest five gets the privilege, to be fair to those taking the Practical Exams. Well if they fail, there's always next day's exams, no?

But out of all these students, only Midoriya and Todoroki have actual combat experience.

Midoriya being a former Vigilante but smart enough to pick her own battles as she hasn't mastered her final ability YET to be safely usable for Hero Work...and Todoroki who was a literal Sidekick as part of his training as a Hero since he was young before he took to the field at age thirteen. Both have high-level combat experience. Todoroki with his Quirk and Izuku for her hand-to-hand, parkour, acrobatics and combat ability.

Eraserhead tested her as out of his staff, he was the best at martial arts...he rated her combat prowess, logical thinking and analysis abilities highly that all her nightly actions were well-calculated she could function as a Hero without harm to herself or casualty to others, though constantly gloomy at fights she cannot win to save victims as her offensive Shield WILL KILL ANYONE that she opts for healing instead. Sure she compensates with healing but she can't fix trauma or PTSD as she laments. Thus holds herself back with no choice as her second imposed weakness. Her only TRUE weakness was food access or she suffers Auto-Phagocytosis only from using her Healing Shield. Her Offense and Defense Shields have no such cost. So until she overcomes the 'killing' part of her quirk, Support Items are a must.

She was highly-skilled in hand-to-hand with considerable physical strength, acrobatics and parkour though needed more work if she is to reach his level...and she can actually use her shield as a flying carpet of sorts! But when asked to see her third shield that can cut through anything like hot knife on butter though she can't use it on humans which was why she fights with her fists...he said she should be in the Practical Exams instead of Recommendation as Recommendation will be a waste of her skills and doing her injustice by giving her an easy time.

But whether she passes or fails, she absolutely has to be in Hero Course anyway. Recovery Girl wants a successor and when Midoriya graduates, she will become a Rescue Hero on school holidays, but a school nurse on school years.

And so, the months passed by that she's now fifteen and all the food she ate, pushed her to puberty. Growing in height to 170 cm with a very shapely form, mostly from her muscle in right places and lacking in fat.

Come UA Entrance Exams...February 26...

'You're nearly late!' Bakugo scolded her.

'Sorry sorry! I had to stuff in a few necessities!' Izuku gasped out as the pair left for U.A.

'You took a damn long break.' said Bakugo. 'It better not cost you the exams!' as far as he was concerned, Izuku has two techniques with her shield and them being childhood friends, only he knew about her Healing ability. Her own parents nor his folks don't know as she feared for her own life and safety when disappearances of people with certain quirks began and feared that if her quirk's full ability got out...yeah, justified fear...because adults, when drunk, CAN'T SHUT UP.

'It won't it won't!' Izuku grinned as they went to the bus stop to get on their bus for U.A High School.

Upon arrival, they went to the Auditorium for a Practical Exam Instruction hosted by Present Mic.

'The Practical Exam is...robot bashing?' Izuku squeaked before feeling weak in the knees. 'I thought its something crazy...but they sure are over the top! Where'd they even get the money for disposable robots? National Taxes?' she whimpered weakly.

'Its government funding, naturally.' Bakugo snorted. 'Much of tax money is invested on Heroes nowadays to put Villains in jail y'know. And its also where Hero Salary comes from. Don't get too worked up about it. Hurry up and go to your area already! The bus might ditch you!'

'Yeees!' Izuku scampered off.

'I should find my bus too.' and Bakugo left.

xxx

Area B...

After getting dressed into a tracksuit for warmth as it's still kinda cold...it was a bus trip for their site.

A small town.

'...uweee, this is where our taxes went I wanna cry...' Izuku felt utterly demotivated, complete with sagging shoulders of dismay. 'Buuut anyways, this is gonna be legal damage property due to an exam anyway, I have no idea what and how to feel at this point...'

Everyone was on standby.

When the gates sprang open, Izuku took that as her cue to fly on her shield and sped up ahead!

'Hey?!'

**WHATSAMATTER?! THERE AIN'T A COUNTDOWN IN REAL LIFE! HEROES ACT ON THE FIRST SIGN! MISSY HAS THE RIGHT IDEA! GOGOGO!** Present Mic yelled, making students in all areas run frantically because they only have ten minutes to score big!

Izuku can shoot her offensive shield or wield it as a sword by making it elongated into a narrow triangle. She can even move it telepathically at will. And the way she moved like a seasoned warrior or surf on her shield before commanding it to shoot to kill before re-catching her again. That, and save examinees from accidents. She was a rescue vigilante to begin with.

It'd be weird if she didn't have Rescues while choosing to attack only 3-pointers and she had 25 of those.

'Yosh, I have about 75 Villain Points which should be a passing grade. OK, I retire.' she grinned tiredly as she left the other robots to give chances to others.

She was about to leave on her shield ala flying shield ride when the city shook.

'Ah, they released the traps already.' she smiled ruefully. 'I better make sure nobody gets buried since I have the ability.' and she paused. 'Or maybe its a test of character I better not trifle with so low scorers have chances to pass the exam? Yeah, I'm not interfering unless someone gets really hurt then.' she mused in a eureka moment. 'I'll stay on the roof and watch...'

xxx

'Well, she's quick to figure that out at least.' said Present Mic, cackling as Izuku's musings were known through lip-reading.

'She's already passed the exam with Villain Points alone, and she also has Rescue Points she didn't know about so her grade is very high.' said Midnight. 'Her Rescues outnumber her Villain due to her schtick before we ah, grounded her.' she giggled.

'Grounded.' Cementoss deadpanned. The girl was a healing vigilante, not the fighting kind that causes property damages which was reason why she gets off lightly. Vigilantes who fight on the other hand, act without license, thus they endanger themselves without getting compensation such as medical care and insurance. At least the girl heals thus no danger to herself and others. She also fights with just martial arts if she determines its a fight she can win. So that's another scoot-around the laws.

'Yes. Grounded.' Eraserhead agreed. 'We had to stop her before she gets bad luck one day...and given her very justified fears, all it takes, is one bad day.' she watches the news, got wind of disappearances of people with convenient quirks and feared she'd be next so she lied about hers. For her safety, her Quirk Registration stayed that way as it hides the truth in plain sight with a clever naming sense.

Tri-Shield: she has three 'shields' with three different functions. Attack, defense and heal. To the ignorant masses, it's because it's a triangle! Can you blame a kid for giving it 'a cool name'?

'So grounding her for her safety in exchange for still helping the poor, is somewhat fair...because if the law keeps away the free doctor...well...you won't like what the slum people will do. The people there resent us Heroes and the Police for taking away the Vigilantes who actually give a damn about them and their safety while we so called pros apparently don't unless they fork money they don't even have.' he sighed. 'I don't know what kind of pro-heroes the slum people encountered, but they're giving us all a bad name.'

'I agree, so I've been showing up in such places lately.' said All-Might unhappily. 'Its sad that some heroes are lacking the spirit these days. I think I've even seen Crust and Best Jeanist in Berisu District last week.'

'Mm. We'll have to discipline the next generation well.' Nezu agreed. 'And we must remind them, what we are here for.'

xxx

At the exams, Izuku watched the Zero-Pointer at work...until a girl got buried in rubble while everyone else turned tail and ran, ignoring the helpless girl in said rubble who looked ready to cry. It pissed Izuku off.

'Tch, what a bunch of trash! If they ever become my classmates, I'm not gonna trust them with my life!' she was about to jump down when one boy darted out of the alley near the buried girl and tried to help her. And exam ended so, the robot stopped mid-stomp and stepped backwards.

**IIIIIIIIIIT'S AAAAAAAAALLLLLL OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVEEEEEEERRRRRRRRR!** Present Mic declared. **GOKUROSAMA MINNA-SAN~! WAIT FOR YOUR EXAM RESULTS IN A WEEK! SEE Y'ALL SOON, BABY!**

Izuku then swooped down on the two pairs.

'You two OK?' she asked them. 'I was checking from the sky for casualties, its you two so far.'

'I couldn't get her out in time.' said the boy with eyebags. 'And she's injured too. Help me un-bury her.' so the two kids did.

'T-thank you...' the girl sniffled. 'I called and called...and nobody came for me! I was goners if not for him! I thought I'm gonna die!' she cried. 'He's the only one who came for me!'

'Well, I'd be a lousy Hero if I ignored a call for help.' said the kid. 'I guess we got a lot of lousy people.' Izuku made her defense shield as a floating stretcher and they put the injured girl on it. Soon, Recovery Girl came, handing out gummies from her massive apron pouch.

'Recovery Girl, we got one injured.' Izuku reported.

'Eat some first my dear, and I'll make it over in a jiffy.' Recovery Girl smiled as she gave the girl some Gummies.

'I hope you guys at least, scored good?' Izuku asked them kindly.

'...well, with a Quirk like mine, its impossible to score.' said the boy gloomily. 'It's a mental quirk. It won't work on robots.'

'What?! T-then if I give you some of my points since you're the only one who saved me, wouldn't that help?!' the girl frantically offered before she got the kiss that made her tired and sluggish. 'G-guh, I feel weak...'

'I doubt it works that way, but thanks for trying.' said the boy with a bitter smile.

'B-but...but...t-that's wrong...at least you should get a grade...you saved my life...' the girl stammered out. 'Surely that should count, we're in a Hero Course and Heroes save lives and you saved mine! You should at least get points!' she insisted frantically. 'This can't be over like that! That's not fair! At least you did something right!'

'Indeed, this world isn't fair but don't you worry dearies...everything will be alright.' Recovery Girl reassured them.

'Yeah, I believe we at least, have one Hero today.' Izuku agreed with a smile. 'Let's all go back.'

xxx

Faculty Room...

'What do you guys think?' All-Might asked the Faculty as they watched that debacle.

'We'll make a deliberation.' said Nezu. 'Indeed, today, we have a Hero born. We can all agree on that.'

xxx

'Hey, green girl, wait a mo'.' eyebags boy approached Izuku who was back in her winter uniform. 'What did you mean back there?!'

'Back at the Auditorium when Present Mic explained away the robots, there are the smaller pointed robots, yet the Arena Trap that's the most dangerous is also the most worthless one. It served no purpose other than going wild...or so I thought.'

'So you thought?'

'Yes. Not everyone, will get enough points to pass the exams and apparently, that's you.' eyebags boy flinched horribly. Because number of robots are limited on purpose, to ensure only forty students make the cut as there's only twenty each Hero Course Classroom. The Arena Trap in fact, is a potential ray of hope for people with low scores, as well as a Heroic Test of Character.' Izuku explained. 'That should anything happen and someone does the right thing despite the danger...that person will be awarded a grade boost. Recovery Girl reassuring you and that girl just confirmed my suspicions when I originally was gonna guillotine that robot just for kicks before I thought of that possibility.' eyebags boy choked at that. 'And by saving her, she in turn tried to save you by offering you her points selflessly as she believes its right and fair. So she'll get a grade boost too because she was determined to save you.'

'Oh...so...?'

'I know you both passed. Recovery Girl saw your characters so I'm sure she'll vouch for you guys.' Izuku reassured him, patting the quivering boy's shoulder.

'A ray of hope...huh? I hope that's for real.'

'It surely will.' Izuku smiled. 'Come on, buck up! You saved a life today and that's what Heroes do!'

xxx

A week later...

'Izu! Your mail from U.A is here!' Inko called out.

'Coming~!' Izuku rushed downstairs to get her mail from her mother.

'Did you apply for General Studies? Management? Business? Support?' Inko asked her daughter.

'Uhm, Hero Course, like Katsuki.' said Izuku. 'My abilities are good for defense of civilians while the fighters do all the work so in a way, I'm safe in this job.'

'But still...why a Hero?' Inko croaked out.

'Mom, look at our situation.' said Izuku softly, waving an arm at their tiny apartment. 'Dad went to Europe for work as salary here in Japan is crap and you know it. Other jobs are deemed insignificant, with focus on fame-related, medical, security and of course, Hero work. Had we been in a normal world, dad's job would have gotten us our own house by now since I was Grade 4 but sadly, we're still stuck in a tiny apartment. The country's taxes and focus go specifically in fields I mentioned.' she said. 'His salary can't get us much that we lived being thrifty for years. We got a little improvement in Europe that we have a decent livelihood now that he can afford to send home 400.000 yen to both of us while he uses 300 for himself over there, but still...our economy sucks.' Izuku sighed. 'We have to improve things more for ourselves because our government won't do a damn thing for the people.'

Her words made Inko sigh.

'Only 15 and you have such thoughts.' she said in dismay. 'And it pushed you into heroics when I'd rather you choose a safer career someday...' she shook her head. 'This will be a tough road dear.'

'I know. But we're backed into a corner and we know it, so we gotta do what we gotta do mom.' said Izuku, ripping her envelope open and while there's a paper inside which is her form for her costume, inside was a gadget that let out a Hologram.

And it's All-Might on the screen.

**THIS, IS A PROJECTION!** he boomed jovially while wearing a garishly-yellow pinstripe suit with a bright orange tie. **THERE'S BEEN MUCH TO DELIBERATE ON. YOU HAVE PASSED 89% IN THE WRITTEN EXAMS! GOOD WORK, BUT WHAT MATTERS IS THE PRACTICAL EXAM! YOU SCORED 75 VILLAIN POINTS WHICH GRANTS YOU A PASS IN U.A, YOUR NOW HERO ACADEMIA! HOWEVER...! NO HERO CAN BE A HERO WITHOUT THEIR ABILITY TO RESCUE! YOU RESCUED A LOT OF EXAMINEES WHICH GETS YOU 99 POINTS, MAKING YOUR SCORE A TOTAL OF A WHOPPING 174, THE TOP SCORER EVER IN U.A'S HISTORY OF PRACTICAL EXAMS!**

'What?!' mother and daughter choked, bulging eyed, out of shock and unable to believe nor process what they heard just now.

**THUS, I SAY TO YOU: WELCOME TO U.A HIGH SCHOOL, MIDORIYA-SHOUJO! I WISH YOU THE BEST OF LUCK!** and hologram is over.

'I-I didn't know that...' Izuku fainted.

'IZUKUUUU!'

And a couple houses away?

'WHAT THE FUCK IS RESCUE POINTS?!'


End file.
